Houston busted for drugs

[Baron Vo Mandor]

3 Es and 1 cocaine - might have made $50 - but much more likely he got them at cost price for his mates from Wicks.
This is not the biggest drug bust of the year.

Roopy you are naive if you think the cops would drag him out if it was the case of a pill or too even if he is a footballer.

 

[Danish Moo Cow]

When is the line drawn, Roopy? 5, 10, 50 E's? FFS. It's what he's been charged with only. Tip of the iceberg, and all that.

 

[Nuffy]

This.

I am shattered.

Except it wont be the end of his footballing career - we will sack him, and he will play for someone else next year guaranteed. My tips are either Raiders or Titans.

If there is any way we can get away with not sacking him, we should take it.

If sponsors were going to leave, they would have already. It will tarnish their brands more to leave than to stick tight.

It's hard to believe that he could be so stupid, but young people do stupid things ALL THE TIME and he as well as the club and fans are going to pay a mighty price in the court of public opinion.

I am however with Mac on this, it needs to play out before we make a move, after all, he may not be convicted or the case may fall over.

He is after all a prospect and will appear somewhere else if he's released.

There is also the little point of innocent until proven guilty and I'd like to think thats part of the decision making process. It was applied in the case of Laffrachi, the Bronco boys, the dogs in 2004 and even Brett Stewart, all cases I would have thought dictated a harder stance than with Houston.

My greatest concern is the impact on the mindset of the team, will this latest setback galvanise the team, ala the dogs in 04, or will we drop our bundle.

 

[roopy]

roopy, do you or do you not believe that these blokes are old enough to recognise their responsibility as professional footballers and representatives of the clubs that pay them very good money to keep clean?

i'm young, and a huge lefty, but even i recognise that these guys are NOT your average young bloke, and are not to be treated as such, either. they are getting paid big bucks, especially in comparison to other people in their age group, and are in the spotlight big time. with the great benefits they happily accept, come great responsibilities to their club and their fans, which they must accept. i don't care if they accidently crushed a pill when they sat down at fannies one night or whether they've been shipping enough pills to supply the cross for a fortnight, they should be staying well away from the gear, at least during their footballing career.

The only thing different between them and any random 20 something off the street is that they have more time on their hands and a lot more money.
Any kid who takes drugs is just as stupid - no difference.
The courts will actually go easy on them, mostly because they are already losing far more than the average Joe would in the same circumstances.
Both these guys are losing a million bucks minimum - possibly fair for Wicks - but if House was a plumber he would lose a day's pay and solicitor's fees - so less than 1k.

 

[Serc]

Words can't describe what I am thinking, knowing that he had the chance to own up last year...his name was the only one really thrown around with some extra emphasis in the police reports...so why didn't he own up then...

Unbelieveable, as a result we get two full doses of the media and everyone else giving us sh*t!!!

As I probably said last year in another emo/raged moment, being a supporter of a NSW team in QLD is not always fun. I am not going to hear the end of this for a very long time.

Edit: Actually fair comment there Mac/Nuffy, we should perhaps just stand him down until everything has run its course. Though given the Broncos precedent we could technically get away with playing him for the time being...lol

 

[roopy]

Roopy you are naive if you think the cops would drag him out if it was the case of a pill or too even if he is a footballer.

wink wink nudge nudge, say no more.

 

[Elephant Hunter]

Does anyone think he is not guilty?

There seems to be presumption of guilt with both Wicks and Houston.

Is this due to our past in the club?

 

[perverse]

The only thing different between them and any random 20 something off the street is that they have more time on their hands and a lot more money.
Any kid who takes drugs is just as stupid - no difference.
The courts will actually go easy on them, mostly because they are already losing far more than the average Joe would in the same circumstances.
Both these guys are losing a million bucks minimum - possibly fair for Wicks - but if House was a plumber he would lose a day's pay and solicitor's fees - so less than 1k.

rubbish. i don't have a contract with my work that says if i get caught using drugs i'll get the sack.

in fact, i know for a fact that i won't.

i don't have thousands of kids, families and other supporters that watch me ply my trade week in, week out. i don't have unbridled talent in my field that would make them want to watch me in the first place.

if they want the perks, they take the responsibility that goes with it. there are so many differences between your average 20-something and these blokes it's ridiculous. do i think it's fair? absolutely, they get very well compensated for it financially, and if they break that agreement (the contract, which they sign... you know... the one that says stay off the gear or we'll give you a big kick up the arse) they should pay the consequences in full.

this has nothing to do with drug use for mine... it has everything to do with honouring an agreement with their employer, and recognising their responsibility to the club, the fans and the sport.

 

[roopy]

When is the line drawn, Roopy? 5, 10, 50 E's? FFS. It's what he's been charged with only. Tip of the iceberg, and all that.

All you know is what he is charged with.
All I know is what he is charged with.
The word 'allegedly' should also appear a lot more in this thread.

If you think there is more to it - ring the police and tell them why you think that.

 

[roopy]

rubbish. i don't have a contract with my work that says if i get caught using drugs i'll get the sack.

in fact, i know for a fact that i won't.

i don't have thousands of kids, families and other supporters that watch me ply my trade week in, week out. i don't have unbridled talent in my field that would make them want to watch me in the first place.

if they want the perks, they take the responsibility that goes with it. there are so many differences between your average 20-something and these blokes it's ridiculous. do i think it's fair? absolutely, they get very well compensated for it financially, and if they break that agreement (the contract, which they sign... you know... the one that says stay off the gear or we'll give you a big kick up the arse) they should pay the consequences in full.

this has nothing to do with drug use for mine... it has everything to do with honouring an agreement with their employer, and recognising their responsibility to the club, the fans and the sport.

They can get them to sign anything, but it won't make them smarter or better than any other similar group.

 

[perverse]

They can get them to sign anything, but it won't make them smarter or better than any other similar group.

ok... now i've just completely lost the point you may or may not be trying to make. i totally agree that they are absolutely stupid, that is (and has always been) my argument and main beef with all of this.

do you not think, if found guilty, he should be made to suffer the full consequences for his actions to the extent of the contract he has signed?

i can't understand why we are arguing... just because they are dumb doesn't mean they shouldn't be punished for being so. have i missed something here?

 

[roopy]

have i missed something here?

The principal of 'natural justice'.

 

[perverse]

The principal of 'natural justice'.

i'm sorry, would you like me to go back and put "allegedly" in front of a whole bunch of words for the sake of being 100% politically correct? i've already stated very clearly that he should be suspended until found guilty (as a means of keeping the rest of our squad seperate and as uneffected as possible). if/when he is found guilty, he should be punished to the absolute full extent of his contract with us, including termination of his contract.

this is old ground that i've already been over, and figured that people would be clever enough to fill in a few blanks by themselves.

how else am i being unfair to poor old houston, roops? i'm admittedly not the best with political correctness, and to be honest people who are sh*t me into the ground. PC is very lame, and without character.

we can pussyfoot around the issue and dance around technicality all we like, but there is an extremely high likelihood that they have the right man. they don't stuff up on highly co-ordinated drug busts anywhere near as much as they get it right.

 

[Big Tim]

Words can't describe what I am thinking, knowing that he had the chance to own up last year...his name was the only one really thrown around with some extra emphasis in the police reports...so why didn't he own up then...

Unbelieveable, as a result we get two full doses of the media and everyone else giving us sh*t!!!

As I probably said last year in another emo/raged moment, being a supporter of a NSW team in QLD is not always fun. I am not going to hear the end of this for a very long time.

Edit: Actually fair comment there Mac/Nuffy, we should perhaps just stand him down until everything has run its course. Though given the Broncos precedent we could technically get away with playing him for the time being...lol

Maybe he doesnt believe he has done anything wrong.....

Maybe he thought he could get away with it.......

Either way, at this stage nothing has been "proven" so unless he falls on his sword like Wicks (who was most likely pushed) I think he will be suspended until the hearing. That will be a giant penalty if he is found innocent.

Why does it take 6 weeks for the appearance anyway? Hasnt this been going on since December?

 

[perverse]

i understand your reluctance to assume the worst tim, given your epic man-crush.

i love the bloke too, which is why i'm so highly irritated at his (potential... this one is for you roopy ) stupidity. i was actually somewhat happy (in a roundabout sort of way) when it came out about wicksy. definitely not this time around.

 

[Elephant Hunter]

Maybe he doesnt believe he has done anything wrong.....

Maybe he thought he could get away with it.......

Either way, at this stage nothing has been "proven" so unless he falls on his sword like Wicks (who was most likely pushed) I think he will be suspended until the hearing. That will be a giant penalty if he is found innocent.

Why does it take 6 weeks for the appearance anyway? Hasnt this been going on since December?

I agree. How come it has taken now 14 months for the Stewart case to come to court.

Should the Knights take the Manly stance and let Houso play on till the case is settled? Given that the police did not see fit to arrest him etc?

 

[roopy]

i'm sorry, would you like me to go back and put "allegedly" in front of a whole bunch of words for the sake of being 100% politically correct? i've already stated very clearly that he should be suspended until found guilty (as a means of keeping the rest of our squad seperate and as uneffected as possible). if/when he is found guilty, he should be punished to the absolute full extent of his contract with us, including termination of his contract.

this is old ground that i've already been over, and figured that people would be clever enough to fill in a few blanks by themselves.

how else am i being unfair to poor old houston, roops? i'm admittedly not the best with political correctness, and to be honest people who are sh*t me into the ground. PC is very lame, and without character.

we can pussyfoot around the issue and dance around technicality all we like, but there is an extremely high likelihood that they have the right man. they don't stuff up on highly co-ordinated drug busts anywhere near as much as they get it right.

One of the principals of natural justice is that a person shouldn't be treated massively differently to similar people in the same circumstances - if the club and the NRL smash him unfairly, he can sue - and probably win.

 

[perverse]

One of the principals of natural justice is that a person shouldn't be treated massively differently to similar people in the same circumstances - if the club and the NRL smash him unfairly, he can sue - and probably win.

so are you saying it is unfair to suspend him for the good of the rest of the team until this is sorted out.... or to sack him if he's found guilty?

 

[Big Tim]

i understand your reluctance to assume the worst tim, given your epic man-crush.

i love the bloke too, which is why i'm so highly irritated at his (potential... this one is for you roopy ) stupidity. i was actually somewhat happy (in a roundabout sort of way) when it came out about wicksy. definitely not this time around.

Not reluctant to assume the worst.

Fact: He didnt confess when Wicks was charged

Fact: He will not be "sacked" until after the court appearance (this is hard to justify, but if he is innocent the club will be in big trouble)

Fact: He will be sacked if found guilty, and I will applaud the club for that.

Fact: If he is innocent he will have had his name, and ours dragged through the mud.

How can it take 10 weeks to be summoned to court, and then another 6 weeks until the case is even heard???

 

[Serc]

Yeah Tim its why I threw in my edit at the end, because yes he may be innocent...but thats not going to stop the media or anyone else giving us an almighty hammering for this.

Sorry my response is a little bit affected by the fact that I know lots of people who love footy around here, and they all know that I love the Knights...not going to be fun for the next little while (again )